For the first time in 2025, the Orioles are on a streak.
Behind the arm of Charlie Morton and the bat of Dylan Carlson, Baltimore (19-34) beat the St. Louis Cardinals 5-2 on Monday for its third straight win — the first winning streak the Orioles have enjoyed this season and one victory short of their longest in the past 11 months.
A series of events that might have seemed unfathomable a month ago powered the all-around complete performance. Morton, returning to the rotation after going 0-6 in his first six starts, allowed two runs over six innings of work while the radar gun flashed an uptick in velocity for all five of his pitches as he claimed his first win of the season. Carlson continued his recent surge with two hits including a three-run home run to power the offense against his former team.
Much of the Orioles’ struggles this season boil down to poor starting pitching, of which Morton has been at the forefront, and injuries that have forced underperforming depth players such as Carlson to see the field more regularly. Those factors made any kind of consistency — at least, enough to win three straight games — unreachable to the point where the team took drastic measures firing skipper Brandon Hyde and naming Tony Mansolino interim manager May 17.
But without any major roster additions likely to come in-season and several key players on the injured list still at various stages of their rehabilitation, the only way the Orioles were going to start winning baseball games in the short term was by the players they had performing better.
On Monday, Morton rewarded the organization’s patience by delivering his best start in an Orioles uniform. He followed Dean Kremer (5 1/3 scoreless Sunday) and Trevor Rogers (6 1/3 scoreless Saturday) in helping extend the rotation’s run of consecutive innings without a run allowed up to 16 before Cardinals catcher Pedro Pagés tucked a flyball inside the left field foul pole for a two-run homer in the fifth.
But that proved to be his only blemish as Morton tossed another clean frame before walking off the mound to a chorus of cheers from a crowd that had booed him back to the dugout on multiple occasions not that long ago.
The Orioles’ offense chipped away at Cardinals starter Erick Fedde, who entered the game with a 0.38 ERA in 23 2/3 innings against Baltimore in his career. A throwing error by third baseman Nolan Gorman helped the Orioles scrape across an unearned run in the first and Carlson manufactured another in the third; he singled, stole second base, moved to third on a sacrifice bunt and scored on an RBI single by Jackson Holliday.
St. Louis drafted Carlson with a first-round pick in 2016 and the switch-hitting outfielder appeared to be an integral part of their young core when he broke out with 18 homers and a .780 OPS in 2021. However, he struggled to return to those heights and the Cardinals cut ties with him three years later when they shipped him to the Tampa Bay Rays last summer.
Facing them for only the third time since, Carlson put the Orioles in control with his three-run blast off Fedde in the fifth inning — his fifth hit in his past three games after accumulating only one in his first 14 this season.
Though their 5-0 lead shrunk to 5-2 on Pagés’ long ball, a taxed Orioles bullpen made quick work of a Cardinals lineup that’s scored the fifth-most runs in the National League. Seranthony Domínguez and Yennier Cano each faced the minimum in the seventh and eighth, respectively, before turning the ball over to Félix Bautista. The Orioles’ closer followed with a 1-2-3 frame of his own to lock down his eighth save of the season.
Instant analysis
Morton, at 41 years old, figured out how to add some velocity back to his repertoire and the results were impressive. Averaging 93.9 mph with his four-seam fastball and topping out at 96.2, the right-hander scattered four hits and two walks with five strikeouts. His signature curveball played better than it had all season, inducing eight whiffs on 19 swings (42%).
This was the Morton the Orioles expected when they signed him for $15 million this winter. His velocity wasn’t overpowering but it was fast enough to set up his curveball, which he threw 42% of the time, for success. He worked efficiently enough to get through six frames on 86 pitches and gave the offense a chance to win.
It’s not just one start either. Morton has a 2.35 ERA and 29.3% strikeout rate over his past four outings, a promising indication that his move to the bullpen has helped him put his worst-case-scenario start to the season behind him.
On deck
The Orioles will go for their fourth straight win Tuesday when Tomoyuki Sugano (3.07 ERA) takes the mound coming off his fifth quality start in his last seven tries. St. Louis will counter with right-hander Andre Pallante, who is 4-3 with a 4.18 ERA.
Around the horn
• Adley Rutschman was held out of the Orioles’ lineup Monday after a foul tip hit him in the catcher’s mask Sunday, prompting him to leave the game. Mansolino said Rutschman was still being evaluated and the team selected the contract of catcher Chadwick Tromp before the game to back up Maverick Handley. Utility man Cooper Hummel, who signed over the weekend, was designated for assignment in a corresponding move.
• The Orioles sent infielder Jordan Westburg (hamstring) and outfielder Colton Cowser (thumb) to Triple-A Norfolk for their respective rehabilitation assignments Monday, Mansolino announced. Westburg has yet to appear in a game at any level since landing on the injured list April 27 while Cowser played three games with High-A Abderdeen before joining the Tides.
• Ramón Laureano (ankle) resumed baseball activities Monday and hit in the batting cage, Mansolino said. The outfielder is hopeful he can return after missing only the minimum 10 days. Catcher Gary Sánchez (wrist) also took batting practice on the field before the game, his first time doing so nearly a month after the Orioles placed him on the IL.
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